Top 11 of 2011... Part 7

#5.  Basis of Decision

So this year culminated some childhood movie dreams came true.  No, I didn't book Newsies, mostly because, well, I'm a giant.

But I did get to tap dance on film and dance down the street of an old town in Technicolor.  So pretty close, right?

In late March, I jumped on a bus with a bunch of college-age kids and trekked overnight to Petoskey, MI, home of the keepsake Petoskey stones to begin principal photography on a NYU short film currently titled Basis of Decision.  You should probably check out the trailer...

So basically we had summer camp in the middle of winter/spring thaw, gradually watching the ice on the lake shrink, and freezing in the Northern Michigan air.  Two weeks leads to a lot of fun, a lot of 16 hour days, and a lot of waiting around...  Here's some of our adventures

Our first shot!  Heads in the library books...

But then we had twelve hours to kill, so we found some fun inspiration in the Petoskey District Library...

 My inspiration for my character name... LEROY!

 Dancers always find a way to be creative...

 And I even got to work with a bunch of Colorado people, including a childhood neighbor!

 The very first day ended with a complicated hand shot, that involved us spinning out of the bookcases.  Hard work, but very fun.

 Day 2 dawned on a bunch of crazy New Yorkers and local teenagers dancing down Main Street.

 Yup, I can run while bundled up.

 My amazing dance partner Carly had the best dress of all.  And we spun.  A LOT.

 Sadly, this jib never ended up working, we lost half a day, and never got the shot.  We instead modified the shot at sunset (which was golden and amazing), combined it with another, and FROZE OUR BUTTS OFF!  Do you see how little clothes the girls are wearing in winter?

 Day 3 dawned lakeside, a bit warmer, with a lot of fun waiting for a huge crane shot.

 Yup.  A FIRETRUCK WAS OUR CRANE.

 Dance Coordinator and I, walkied up, and waiting for the shot.

A few days later we shot for 16 hours in the gym.  4 huge shots.  The other extreme (very HOT), and so Leroy made a new friend for the end of the film... Victoria.

 Our director, leads, and dance captains discussing the shots.  Dance at the Gym.  MAMBO.

 Apparently I'm quite funny and can hold court with the Michiganders.

 The jib worked a little better as we set up a huge overhead Busby Berkeley shot.

Candid Victoria and Leroy caught cozying up...

The shot started much bigger, but focus caused the final thing to be very very very very tight and intricate.   SUCCESS!

 Towards the end of the shoot we returned to the lakeside to pick up a shot we lost due to darkness the first day.  So I thought I'd take my classic "body-of-water" shot.

 Yeah, we danced on those rocks.  Check out this angle.  BAM!

Two weeks of summer camp fun, sleeping in bunk beds, hosted by a wonderful family, meals in a school cafeteria and catered GRINDERS, freezing cold temperatures in a summer resort town, lots of house parties and drinking, old town stores with delicious jams, and a bus ride just like tour.

And the fun didn't end there.  We shot another weekend in August in New York with NO AIR CONDITIONING (the other extremes of the shoot), and suddenly my sweater costume wasn't so pleasant.  And I returned in November in time to shoot the final soundstage number, watching a new set get built everyday to create amazingly magical moments.  Hopefully the film will be debuting at some film festivals soon, and you'll see my tap dancing feet on 35 mm.

Dreams really do come true.

Diva Wars

There's a pun in that title. At least I think there is. Read on to find out.

I haven't written all week, mostly because Evan and I are having a Star Wars marathon! Spread out over many nights, of course, and we are currently halfway through Episode 2. And this makes me very happy. I've always wanted to marathon the movies to see the through-lines and connections; it's awesome to see it developing in a matter of days.

I also am getting really excited because I will start the craziness of 6 weeks of visitors in 5 days!!! I just booked our ryokan for Kyoto this evening and now I need to start my research. Oops. Probably should've done that one earlier.

My camera still hasn't been found. Nor my sunglasses. Nor my green fleece in Hiroshima. St. Anthony must not believe in working overtime in a Shinto country. :(

The biggest news of all, though, can be summed up in a song lyric.

Now for those who know me, I NEVER express my feelings on the internet in song lyrics. And even if I did, I wouldn't EVER post a lyric by Stephen Schwartz, because, well, I don't care for his work.

And yet. This is speaking to me today....

Something has changed within me/Something is not the same/

I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game/

Too late for second-guessing/too late to go back to sleep/

It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap...

I'm not sure what Japan has done to me, but I'm pretty darn sure of what OLC has done to me. The guy who didn't really ever find it necessary to argue for what he wanted has suddenly grown a backbone.

I mean, I've always been willing to stand up when something is blatantly wrong or rude or unfair, but I rarely stand up for what I want, or even deserve. And today, well, today was the final cement in the divo coffin.

It's happening. I'm turning into a diva. Just a bit. In a good way. And to be truthful, I'm loving it.

Because I've stopped being the guy who cain't say no, the one everyone turns to whenever they need a song played, the guy who just wants to keep the peace. And all it took for me to get there was a job where no one has my back, no one has my interests at stake, and no one's fighting for me to step up and say no.

Like today. A co-worker has badly mistreated me for four months by choosing not to acknowledge my presence. Which I find even more offensive than if he/she were to be rude to my face and or problematic. But to blatantly ignore someone is not only rude, it's discourteous and unprofessional.

And so, today, when my co-worker decided, after pretending I was Casper the Friendly Ghost for months on end, decided to berate me for requesting something relatively minor, I stood up for myself and what I felt was necessary. The diva came out; I would not allow someone to abuse my person when he/she has pretended like I don't exist until now.

Could this reflect poorly on me? Absolutely. Was this action called for? Maybe not. Will I apologize? Probably.

But one thing is certain. I stood my ground, and I'm damn well proud of that. Tokyo has taught me a few things, and one of those is a staunch belief in my self-worth. Anything less than that won't be tolerated.

Just so you know.